Origin (Scales 'N' Spells Book 1)

by AJ Sherwood

  “Ravi is a member of the royal guard.”

  “And you’re king,” Cameron said, his voice dropping closer to a whisper.

  “Yes.”

  Cameron glanced around them. There were more people streaming around them, but they stood undisturbed like a large rock in the middle of a forest brook. “But no one is staring or whispering or even taking pictures when they see you. No one knows. Why? Why doesn’t anyone know dragons still exist?”

  An old pain throbbed to life in Alric’s chest as his eyes strayed away from the man in front of him to the people passing them by, blissfully ignorant that the very thing they celebrated stood among them. But they weren’t really celebrating dragons. Just the end of them.

  It had been a relatively easy decision at the end of the war. One of the few things he and Rodrigo, king of the Ice Clan, agreed on.

  “We decided it was better for our kind to be forgotten,” Alric started. “We tried to keep the fighting away from human settlements and cities, but it wasn’t easy. Magic can wreak horrible devastation, and dragons…well, we’re not particularly small by any means. Countless humans lost their lives in a war that had nothing to do with them. When it was over, we thought it safer for humans if we stayed away from them as much as we could and let them think we were gone. This festival is a celebration of the end of our war. A celebration of our disappearance.”

  Cameron reached out and laid his hand on Alric’s right arm. He tilted his head to the side, lowering it just enough that he could look directly into Alric’s eyes. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?” Cameron didn’t wait for his answer. He grabbed Alric’s hand and pulled him into the center of the square. “Look around you. Do you really think if humans were glad dragons were gone, we’d be celebrating you like this? I know the war stole from your family and friends, but I think you’ve let that suffering cloud your vision. These people aren’t celebrating your death. They are celebrating that you lived and soared above our heads with your beautiful wings sparkling in the sun.”

  Alric snorted. “Our wings do not sparkle.”

  Cameron leaned in close, his nose bumping against Alric’s. “Fine. Glint. Gleam. Shimmer. Twinkle.”

  “I will allow gleam.”

  Cameron groaned, but it was with a smile. “Whatever. My point is that humans wouldn’t dress up as dragons and dance around like idiots if we were glad you were dead.”

  “It’s been my experience that humans don’t need much of a reason to dress up and dance like idiots.”

  “I should have known the king of the dragons would be a royal pain in the ass.”

  Cameron tried to walk away, but Alric caught his hand, pulling him back in with enough force that Cameron’s chest bumped against his own.

  “And what does that make you, my mage? Magically stubborn?” Alric teased.

  For a moment, he was only aware of how close Cameron was. His lips tilted in that teasing smirk were only inches from his own. A hint of cologne drifted around them mixed with sweat and something Alric was sure was purely Cameron. Combined with the scent of magic, like a storm unleashed, it was simply intoxicating. And then Cameron’s hand in his. Cameron hadn’t tried to pull away. Instead, he’d actually threaded his fingers with Alric’s, tightening their hold on each other.

  “There is nothing magical about my stubbornness. I come by it naturally. My family has a long history of stubbornness.”

  Alric chuckled. “I’m sure it has a long history of magic as well.”

  Cameron stepped back and pointed a warning finger at him. “We’re not talking about that right now.” Cameron started to release his hand and walk away, but Alric tightened his fingers in Cameron’s, drawing the man’s dark eyes up to him.

  “Thank you,” Alric said with a small bow of his head. “I always thought they’d be glad we were gone.”

  “No. We’re just really glad you lived in the first place.” Cameron flashed him a tender smile and then shook his head as if trying to shed the seriousness of the moment. “But if you want to thank me, then you can thank me with some coffee. I didn’t have nearly enough caffeine to start my morning.”

  “Your wish is my command,” Alric joked, directing them toward the nearest coffee and pastry vendor.

  Cameron’s hand slid from his this time, and Alric found himself staring down at his own. He swore his skin felt cold without Cameron’s touch, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt cold like that. He liked holding Cameron’s hand. It had fit just perfectly against his own. He liked the slightly sweaty brush of his palm and the rough hints of callouses on the pads of his fingers. It was a good hand. A hand that belonged in his. His dragon rumbled an agreement, content with the contact like a cat would be in a sunny perch.

  But he had no proof Cameron belonged to him. He could so easily belong to any other dragon, and he would not stand in the way of any of his people finding their mate.

  The dragon side of his nature did not agree.

  Alric mentally growled back a warning. He had to be careful. This was no time to let instincts make decisions.

  Walking side by side, they headed deeper into the crowd. Naturally, the stall serving coffee and pastries was the busiest. There wasn’t so much a line as a thick gathering of people at least three deep in front of the booth. Alric frowned at the gathering. There was no sense in both of them wading into that mess. He glanced around the area before his eyes lit on the perfect spot.

  “If you’d like to sit, there’s an open bench over there,” Alric offered, motioning toward a quiet little niche away from the main gathering of people and booths. “I’m happy to get coffee and pastries for us both.”

  “You sure? You know I was just joking about getting me coffee,” Cameron said.

  “I find I could use something sweet. I didn’t eat enough breakfast.”

  Cameron smiled at him, poking his arm. “Silly dragon.”

  Alric didn’t need for him to know that he’d lost his appetite this morning because of this meeting. Too much was riding on him convincing Cameron that he was a mage and belonged with the Fire Clan.

  “Black with two sugars,” Cameron said and then wandered in the direction of the bench Alric had pointed out. “I’ll save you a seat.”

  He could feel the smile on his lips as he stepped up to the gathering of customers. Alric was not one to just randomly smile. At least not since he’d been a very young dragon, but he couldn’t help it when he was around Cameron. He probably looked a little ridiculous. Maybe even besotted.

  The smell of coffee and sugar drifted to his nose, drawing his attention from his thoughts to the stall. He wasn’t nearly tall enough to see over the crowd, but a pair of chalkboard menus displayed an array of pastries for sale.

  Verdammt! He’d forgotten to ask what Cameron would like to eat. He could clearly recall everything Cameron had ordered the first day of the festival, but it had been such a vast array of things he couldn’t even guess at what Cameron might be in the mood for now. It was safer to just ask.

  Stepping out of the gathering, he turned toward the bench only to find it empty. Cameron wasn’t anywhere in the area. Alric’s heart skipped a beat as he jogged over to the shaded area to make sure Cameron wasn’t hidden behind another tree or other festival goers. But he wasn’t.

  The skip of his heart turned into a full-fledged run as he turned in place, his eyes skimming over hundreds of smiling faces in search of Cameron’s. He wouldn’t have left. No. He hadn’t run. There was no reason. They’d been laughing and joking.

  And Cameron wouldn’t run. When he’d been upset, he’d faced Alric down, shouting at him and making demands.

  But if he hadn’t run, did that mean he’d been taken? Why? And by whom? Did someone else know he was a mage? Was it just random luck that he’d been grabbed by some horrible human thief?

  Alric rushed back into the crowd and shouted Cameron’s name, hoping that maybe he’d just walked over to a nearby stall to see the vendor’s w
ares, not expecting Alric to return so quickly. But there was still no sign of him. Alric cursed himself. He knew Cameron had his number, Baldewin had reported that, but he’d failed to give him Cameron’s number in return. And Alric needed it right now.

  Palming his phone, Alric immediately called Baldewin while he still searched the immediate area.

  “Is he still grumpy over yesterday?” Baldewin said by way of greeting.

  “Cameron’s gone,” Alric blurted. “Tell me you are here at the festival.”

  “We are. We’re a few blocks away from you. Wanted to give you some space.” His tone was immediately serious, ready to jump into a battle for Alric.

  “Get here. I can’t find him. And call him, I don’t have his number.” Alric hurried toward the bench he’d pointed out only minutes ago. It was the last direction he’d seen Cameron walking in.

  “I will. Do you think he went back to his hotel?”

  “No, but send someone there just in case if he doesn’t pick up. I—” Alric stopped. He thought he’d heard something out of place. An awkward scrape of shoe on pavement. He strained, listening, wishing he could stop his own pounding heart.

  “No!” It was Cameron. He knew the man’s voice. He sounded desperate, fighting something. The muffled shout came from down the block in the direction of a narrow alleyway.

  “He’s in trouble. I’m heading toward the back of the supermarket. Find me!” Alric commanded as he took off running. He ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. His old friend always had his back, and he would do it because Alric needed him. Cameron needed him.

  Racing through the crowd, dodging people strolling idly along with children, Alric thought only of reaching Cameron. He never should have taken his eyes off the man. Never should have let even a foot of space come between them.

  His skin itched and burned. His dragon wanted out. Wanted to climb over these buildings and shove cars out of his way until he found the bastards who dared to lay hands on his Cameron. His mage. Cameron said people celebrated that dragons existed, but if any harm came to the mage, he would remind them why humans feared dragons for so long.

  As he reached the mouth of the alley, Alric saw a flash of…something—light, color—at the entrance to a connecting alleyway. It was so very brief that he wasn’t sure. Magic was in the air, too, the biting and acrid tang of it. But there were more sounds of a scuffle and then Cameron’s frantic voice. He couldn’t make out the words, but he didn’t need to.

  Running down the narrow alley on the uneven cobblestones, Alric slid at the entrance of a new alley and spotted Cameron being forced down the narrow space by three men, toward a white van with the side door open. A fourth man stood in the opening with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes, urging his companions to hurry.

  “Release him!” Alric roared as he charged down the alley.

  Two of the men released Cameron and turned to intercept Alric. He spared only a glance at Cameron to see the mage fighting against his attacker’s hold, digging his feet in and doing anything possible to slow his progress toward the van.

  One of them took something out of his pocket, throwing it at Alric. Instincts from five hundred years ago kicked in and he dodged the attack utterly, catching up a trash can lid and intercepting it before the spell could fully unfurl. The spell hit the lid and half-dissolved it, magic splattering against the wall of the building in a hiss as brick dissolved.

  The only way to combat magic was to give them no room to cast it. Alric closed the distance in a leap, forcing them into close-quarter combat.

  Turning his attention to the two men who’d reached him, he deftly dodged a wild haymaker from one man and slugged the other hard in the gut, doubling him over as the air left his lungs in a noisy rush.

  Pain exploded across Alric’s face as the first man with a green mask and angry blue eyes recovered faster than Alric had expected. The second punch just barely missed his nose as Alric deflected most of it with his left arm. Pain spiderwebbed up his arm and across his shoulder, sizzling along the old wound. He refused to be slowed any further.

  Snarling, he punched the green-masked assailant again, then grabbed a fistful of his grey T-shirt. He slung him into his companion, who was just straightening. Both men crashed into the wall and fell to the ground in a tangled heap.

  Alric didn’t spare them another glance. He turned his attention toward Cameron to find the mage already running toward him. The man holding him was partially bent over as he hobbled toward the van, both hands cupping his dick and balls. The man in the van was jumping down to the sidewalk, but Alric wasn’t sure if he was helping his companion or coming after Cameron. The important thing was that they were outnumbered and Alric couldn’t be sure by how many. They needed to retreat and regroup. Cameron had to be protected at all costs.

  The mage crashed into him, and his hands fluttered over Alric’s chest and arms as if trying to check him for injuries. Alric winced when Cameron gripped his left shoulder and Cameron immediately released him, which wasn’t what Alric wanted at all.

  Grabbing Cameron’s hand, he pulled him down the alley, pausing only long enough to kick the green masked man in the head before he could regain his feet. They ran back toward the festival only to meet up with Baldewin, Warin, and Sasha at the mouth of the first alley they’d entered.

  “Hoheit!” Baldewin gasped as they nearly ran into each other. His friend was careful to touch him only on his right side as he moved Alric over to a nearby wall to lean against. Alric released Cameron’s hand only long enough to wrap his arm around Cameron’s waist, pulling him tightly against his body. Right now, nothing was coming between him and the mage, not even his best friend.

  “Down the alley. At least four of them. White van. I want to know who they are and why they grabbed Cameron,” Alric barked.

  There was a grunt from Baldewin, and the two other guards darted down the alley, but Alric barely noticed it. His eyes were locked on Cameron, closely inspecting his face, his clothes. His hair was disheveled, his glasses knocked askew, and there looked to be a small bruise forming on his chin, but otherwise he looked okay. He also looked torn between shock and anger, and it was obvious Cameron was perfectly willing to jump right back into a fight if the attackers returned.

  “Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” Alric asked.

  “Fine. I’m fine,” Cameron panted. He lifted his trembling hand and carefully touched the side of Alric’s face. “But your jaw. And you’re bleeding a little from the corner of your mouth.”

  “I’m okay. I promise.”

  “Hoheit, you’re pale. Your arm?” Baldewin interjected in German, and Alric nearly growled at his old friend. Of course he would notice if Alric was in more pain than he was letting on. Sharp throbbing echoed down from his shoulder to his fingertips on his left side.

  “Nothing Lisette can’t fix,” Alric replied in kind, narrowing his gaze at Baldewin. His friend wisely shut his mouth on this topic at least.

  Alric turned his attention back to Cameron. The mage leaned against him, his own arm around Alric’s back as if he was afraid the dragon would release him. Not happening anytime soon. “Did you recognize any of those men? Did they say anything?”

  “No. Nothing helpful. I have no idea why they grabbed me. It all happened so fast. I didn’t even see them approaching me. I was watching you in line.” To his surprise, Cameron chuckled. “Cassie is going to give me so much grief. Rescued by a dragon.”

  Alric didn’t dare look too closely at the joy that gripped his heart at Cameron’s playful words. He was clearly joking, but Alric still loved the sound of it.

  “I’ll always come for you, but for now, it would be much easier for both of us if you didn’t stray too far from me.”

  “Speaking of, Hoheit,” Baldewin interjected. Alric glared at his friend, who was trying hard to hide his smile and failing pretty miserably. “We would be safer at the castle until we discover the reason behind this attack on Camer
on.”

  Cameron stiffened against Alric and loosened his hold on Alric’s waist. Alric wanted Cameron in Burkhard castle, but not like this. He’d wanted Cameron to come willingly.

  “I know you didn’t want to go there today, but you will be safest there. No one can reach you.”

  Warin and Sasha returned with grim expressions. “Tut mir leid, Majestät,” Warin apologized, looking pissed he had to report such negative news. “They’re long gone. We can’t track them, either.”

  “Glamour or scent-dispelling spell, there’s something at work,” Sasha agreed, expression screwed up in a sour way. “But there’s nothing for us to track.”

  Alric growled in annoyance. “They were well prepared, then. Thank you for trying. Cameron—” He turned his head to look at the mage still tucked up against him. Fresh alarm turned into dread at the idea that just a second later, Cameron would have been taken and Alric wouldn’t have any means of readily finding him. His tone became almost pleading. “I won’t force you. You won’t be my prisoner. If you’d rather return to your hotel room, I can assign guards to watch over you.”

  Sucking in a deep breath, Cameron slowly released it and shook his head. “No, you’re right. The castle is the smarter option. We haven’t had a chance to talk yet, and it would be easier if we’re not looking over our shoulders. Plus, I have a feeling you’re more hurt than you let on. And you probably won’t allow this Lisette to care for you until you know I’m safe.”

  Alric grinned at Cameron, not caring that it sent a fresh stab of pain through his face. “Is this your way of saying that I’m magically stubborn?”

  Cameron groaned. “Yes, you are magically stubborn. Now, come along, dragon. Let’s get you fixed up. I think I want something stronger than that coffee you promised me.”

  Alric pushed away from the wall, and they walked toward Cameron’s hotel with their arms wrapped around each other, while Baldewin, Warin and Sasha trailed behind them like an angry storm cloud. He didn’t know who was holding up whom, but Cameron didn’t seem ready to release him yet, and Alric was damn sure he wasn’t. Alric’s dragon side growled at just the idea of letting him go. It didn’t matter. Cameron was safe, and Alric would do whatever was necessary to make sure he stayed that way.